If you haven’t purchased any of the additional episodes that have been released for Fallout 3, the Broken Steel expansion is the best place to start. There have been a lot of positive changes and updates to the core Fallout 3 game included in this release. Most notable is a change to the ending of the game. Fallout 3 did so many things right but the ending was one of the more anti-climatic endings of a game this generation. Ending the game actually means, ending the game. If players complete Fallout 3 and want to continue exploring the wastelands and completing side quests they are forced to revert to a previous save file to do so. Downloading Broken Steel will allow you to complete the main story and continue exploring the wastelands filling those gaps in your achievement list.
The other major change that Broken Steel brings to Fallout 3 is the raising of the level cap from 20 to 30. The 10 added levels also include a list of new perks to play with. Most of the perks are designed to help characters reach their maximum potential, but a few seem like they were added to assist players in nabbing some of the achievements they may have missed during their initial play through. These new perks allow you to adjust your Karma rating, unlock custom weapon types without needing the schematics, and raise all SPECIAL stats to 9, to name a few.
Broken Steel’s story picks up right where Fallout 3’s story ends. You will continue aiding the Brotherhood of Steel in their battle to keep the Wastelands free from the tyranny of the enclave, or what is left of them. Truth be told, I enjoyed the additional story content in Broken Steel more than the main quest line in Fallout 3. The mission objectives combined with the bits of story had a much smoother flow than in Fallout 3. Be ready to clear out your inventory because you will want to have room for the two new weapons that have been added for Broken Steel. The Heavy Incinerator is a mortar-like flamethrower that causes a splash damage effect weakening on-coming enemies. The second addition to the list of available weapons is the Tesla Cannon. I love the Tesla Cannon. Think of it as an electrified rail gun that packs enough punch to take out the Enclave Vertibirds that buzz around overhead.
Broken Steel won’t take players to places that differ much from what you have seen while exploring Fallout 3. Instead, new enemies and their tactics are used to make Broken Steel feel fresh and challenging until the end. The story isn’t very long (I completed the DLC just shy of 10 hours) but its a steal at $10.00. The new features extend the Fallout 3 universe and bring that much more fun to the game. Broken Steel doesn’t mess too much with the existing formula that made Fallout 3 great, but it does provide more adventure that matches the expectations set by Fallout 3. I recommend anyone who enjoyed Fallout 3 give Broken Steel a chance, I don’t think you will regret it.
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